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Ali Dizaei is, without doubt, the most persecuted cop in Britain. Having been the subject of various internal investigations over the past decade, which have failed to stand-up any serious allegation against him, Dizaei has now been cleared once more of any misdeeds

A leading member of the Black Police Association, Dizaei (pictured right, alongside Met BPA chair Alfred John) was cleared of misusing a police credit card 14 months after he was suspended from his job as Commander of Hounslow in west London.

An Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) probe found no evidence he acted dishonestly or without integrity, and ruled that Dr Dizaei will not face action.

This is the second time that the suspended Dr Dizaei has endured a spate of negative newspaper headlines reporting the allegations against him. It is also not the first time he has been cleared of wrongdoing.

The infamous year-long Operation Helios investigation, costing at least £5 million and involving 50 officers, began in 2000 and ended with an apology by the then Met Commissioner Sir Ian Blair, undisclosed damages and further apologies from two national newspapers.

But one year after Sir Ian apologised for Operation Helios, Dr Dizaei was once again being investigated for failing to report a hit and run accident an allegation he strongly denies. He is also set to face corruption charges in January linked to a scuffle in a restaurant.

While it would be wrong to prejudge those inquiries, the fact that Dr Dizaei has been cleared of the credit card allegations needs to be seen in the context of the earlier Operation Helios. In light of this need to ask whether the policeman is the target of an unfair, even racist, campaign waged by his colleagues.